• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod has also asked the Supreme Court to reconsider its earlier ruling allowing commercial fishing in municipal waters.
The SP passed a unanimous resolution Feb. 26 and joined the snowballing clamor for the SC to overturn its decision that removed the 15-kilometer municipal water demarcation.
This allows commercial fishing vessels access to municipal waters, previously reserved for small-scale fishers under the Fisheries Code.
Authored by Councilor Jude Thaddeus Sayson, chairperson of the SP Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries, the resolution calls for “urgent action to safeguard the rights of municipal fisherfolk and protect fisheries and marine resources.”
On Feb. 25, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Negros Occidental also passed a unanimous resolution expressing grave concern over the SC ruling.
It said the ruling undermines the constitutional mandate of local governments to exercise jurisdiction over their resources and ensure the welfare of their constituents.
“The unregulated commercial fishing in municipal waters will deplete fish stocks, degrade marine ecosystems, and undermine local conservation efforts that have been successfully implemented by LGUs and fisherfolk organizations,” it added.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson earlier said the SC decision threatens the livelihood of more than 45,000 marginalized fishing communities belonging to 472 associations in coastal towns of Negros Occidental, including the P2-billion blue crabs’ industry of the province.
The Department of Agriculture, through the Office of the Solicitor General, already filed a motion for reconsideration with the Supreme Court to overturn its decision.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. expressed concerns about the decision’s potential adverse effects on the livelihood of small fishers and its impact on marine ecosystems.
“At a depth of seven fathoms, or 12 meters, corals are at risk, and our scarce marine resources could face further depletion,” he had said in a statement.
The SC’s First Division had earlier upheld a Malabon Regional Trial Court decision declaring the Fisheries Code’s preferential access provisions unconstitutional, following a petition filed by Mercidar Fishing Corp.
But Oceana Philippines vice president Gloria Estenzo-Ramos has warned that the ruling could devastate marine resources.
She said that commercial vessels would be allowed to fish in nearly 90 percent of coastal waters, threatening marine ecosystems. “Tracking devices, such as the Vessel Monitoring System, would become irrelevant,” she said in the DA press release, referring to the system designed to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. | CGC
